Dalvin Tomlinson

Early life

Tomlinson attended Henry County High School in McDonough, Georgia. He played football and was a wrestler in high school, winning three state titles.

College career

Tomlinson began attending Alabama in 2012 and redshirted his first season while still recovering from a torn ACL he suffered playing for his soccer team in high school.

Throughout Alabama's fall camp in 2013, Tomlinson competed with Ed Stinson, Jeoffrey Pagan, and A'Shawn Robinson for the starting defensive end position. Head coach Nick Saban named him the backup right defensive end behind Jeoffrey Pagan to begin his freshman season. On August 31, 2013, Tomlinson made his collegiate debut during Alabama's 35–10 victory over Virginia Tech. He recorded four combined tackles, but left after suffering a knee injury that caused him to miss the entire 2013 season. He had a surgery to repair the knee injury and was due to miss 5–6 months.

He returned to fall camp in 2014 and competed with Jonathan Allen and D. J. Pettway for the job as the starting defensive end. On August 30, 2014, Tomlinson recorded five combined tackles during Alabama's season-opening 33–23 victory over West Virginia. On October 25, 2014, he recorded two solo tackles and sacked Tennessee's quarterback Joshua Dobbs for the first one of his career during a 34–20 victory. On November 15, 2014, he recorded a season-high seven combined tackles, two tackles Mississippi, and made the second sack of his career, as Alabama defeated Mississippi State. He finished his sophomore season in 2014 with 22 combined tackles (8 solo), two sacks, and 5.5 tackles for a loss in 14 games.

Tomlinson returned to fall camp in 2015, competing for the starting defensive end position with A'Shawn Robinson, Jarran Reed, Jonathan Allen, and Da'Shawn Hand. He was named the backup right defensive end behind Jarran Reed to begin his third season. In Alabama's season-opener against Wisconsin, Tomlinson made two solo tackles and a career-high three pass deflections during Alabama's 35–17 victory. On September 26, 2015, Tomlinson recorded a season-high five combined tackles in a 35–0 defeat over Louisiana-Monroe. During a Week 8 contest against LSU, he collected four combined tackles and was credited for half a sack on Brandon Harris in a 30–16 victory. Tomlinson completed the 2015 season with 34 combined tackles (22 solo), a half a sack, and led the Crimson Tide with five pass deflections in 14 games. He was a part of a highly touted defensive front in 2015, that consisted of four future NFL players that would all be taken in the first two rounds of the 2016 and 2017 NFL draft. Along with him and nose tackle Daron Payne, the defensive line included A'Shawn Robinson (46th overall, 2016), Jarran Reed (49th overall, 2016), and Jonathan Allen (17th overall, 2017).

In 2016, Tomlinson competed with Jonathan Allen, Dakota Ball, and Da'Shawn Hand for the vacant defensive end positions throughout fall camp. Head coach Nick Saban named him the right defensive end opposite Jonathan Allen, to begin the 2016 season. He made his first career start during Alabama's season-opener against USC and helped hold the Trojans to 64 rushing yards and recorded one tackle during the 52–6 victory. He played both defensive tackle and defensive end throughout the game. The following week against Western Kentucky, he recorded three combined tackles, a tackle for a loss, and his first sack of the season, as the Crimson Tide defeated the Hilltoppers 38–10. On November 19, 2016, Tomlinson collected a career-high eight combined tackle and was credited with an assist for a tackle for a loss during a 31–3 win against Chattanooga. He finished his senior season a total of 62 combined tackles (45 solo), 5.5 tackles for a loss, three sacks, and a forced fumble in 14 games and 14 starts.

During his career, he had 122 tackles and four sacks.